{"id":349142,"date":"2026-06-24T23:11:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/349142\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:11:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:11:03","slug":"tarrant-residents-lawmaker-air-concerns-about-planned-wastewater-plants-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/349142\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarrant residents, lawmaker air concerns about planned wastewater plant\u2019s impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ash Petrie, Fort Worth Report
June 24, 2026<\/p>\n

More than a year after a private wastewater treatment facility was proposed in southeast Tarrant County, residents are asking state environmental regulators to reconsider its application.<\/p>\n

Dressed collectively in red, more than 150 attendees gathered at the Forest Hill Civic and Convention Center on June 18 to urge members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to prevent a domestic wastewater treatment facility from being built in Burleson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe implications extend far beyond the boundaries of this property,\u201d said Andrew Quant, a resident who would be affected. \u201cThis is not simply a local land use issue. It\u2019s a matter of environmental stewardship, agricultural protection and public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quant was among those who discussed concerns with environmental commission staffers and representatives of the facility about the area\u2019s tendency to flood, the proposed route of discharge and air quality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In May 2025, James Gregory Coontz and his sister, Cathy Ann Frederick, filed an application with the state environmental commission to build a privately owned wastewater treatment facility. Under the proposal, the facility would treat wastewater from the mobile home community Coontz and Frederick plan to build on their property, located at the corner of FM 1187 and Bill Levey Road in Burleson.<\/p>\n

A maximum of 225,000 gallons of effluent, or treated wastewater, would discharge into an unnamed tributary a day. The creek would then carry it into Village Creek and ultimately flow into Lake Arlington, according to the application.<\/p>\n

\"\"At a public meeting held by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, state Rep. David Cook requests a contested case hearing to challenge a proposed Burleson wastewater treatment plant. (Ash Petrie | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

State Rep. David Cook requested the meeting on behalf of residents who allege the application withheld information concerning the land on which it would be located.<\/p>\n

Coontz and Frederick did not attend the meeting Thursday. Attorney Peter Gregg and Jonathan Nguyen, the Quiddy Engineer permitting specialist who created the application, represented the land owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t have the technical information, the process information, (or) the legal information responsive to your questions,\u201d Gregg said, referring to Coontz and Frederick.<\/p>\n

Route of Effluent:<\/p>\n

\"\"(Courtesy | Michelle Quant Johnson)<\/p>\n

The route of effluent from a proposed wastewater treatment facility would be carried by an unnamed tributary toward Village Creek, according to the application. Then, the creek will lead it into Lake Arlington.<\/p>\n

Residents argue the tributary is a dry ditch incapable of carrying the effluent to Village Creek. Instead of a moving waterway, the effluent will stay stagnant and build up in the ditch, residents say. During rainy seasons, the tributary heavily floods, they added.<\/p>\n

Several residents said they\u2019re unsure how the unnamed tributary will have the capacity to hold the proposed amount of treated wastewater and carry it into Village Creek.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat drainage ditch you call an unnamed tributary floods heavily every time it rains,\u201d said Dave Johnson, whose wife\u2019s family owns property along the effluent\u2019s route. \u201cYou propose to add 225,000 gallons of water (to it) daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle Labrie, an aquatic scientist with the environmental commission, said the state defines water as wherever there are \u201cbeds and banks,\u201d referring to the physical foundation and bordering terrain that contains a waterway. In the eyes of the state commission, the route is a waterway, she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Michelle Quant Johnson and Victor Salazar present information to Deba Dutta, a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality staffer, listing all the concerns the community has with the wastewater facility application. (Ash Petrie | Fort Worth Report)
\nPotential effects of E. coli to surrounding ecosystem, residents say<\/p>\n

While the wastewater from the facility would be treated through chlorine disinfection, the effluent would still contain levels of E. coli, according to the application.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, the state environmental commission considers Village Creek an impaired body of water due to its high E. coli and mercury levels, according to the agency\u2019s 2024 water quality assessment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to drink it, and you shouldn\u2019t be touching it,\u201d local resident Anne Hoagland said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She\u2019s previously expressed concern in a local podcast<\/a> June 8, explaining that degradation to Village Creek would affect the wildlife that inhabit her property, ecological makeup and quality of life.<\/p>\n

She asked state commission officials why basic chlorine disinfection was permitted rather than mandating a more advanced tertiary filtration system or UV disinfection to protect the already vulnerable water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bacteria units listed in the application were below what\u2019s considered standard by the state environmental commission, Labrie said. She noted the amount of bacteria that would discharge into the water would be lower than what is currently measured in Village Creek, therefore not exceeding the state agency\u2019s regulatory limits<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Mike Linder, a water quality staffer with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, takes notes as officials address the public in a question-and-answer session. (Ash Petrie | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

State environmental commission staffer Deba Dutta said the agency can\u2019t dictate what systems are used and only review what is submitted to ensure it will disinfect the waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hoagland argued more chlorine deposits into Village Creek would only create an algae bloom and harm the species living in the water. Dutta told Hoagland that the concern needed to be brought up with the applicants.<\/p>\n

Residents voice concerns over water route<\/p>\n

Michelle Quant Johnson, Dave Johnson\u2019s wife and Andrew Quant\u2019s mother, started fighting the wastewater treatment facility permit a year ago when she was notified by the applicants. On Thursday, Quant Johnson alleged there are several errors in the application.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad TCEQ made a site visit like I\u2019d requested, or even consulted a map, they would have realized that the proposed discharge is not in the Village Creek as the application suggests,\u201d Quant Johnson said.<\/p>\n

The discharge route map encompasses her daughter\u2019s home but does not include Quant Pond, where her grandchildren swim, horses drink from, where church events are held and where kids camp in the summer. The treated wastewater, she said, would flow directly into the pond.<\/p>\n

\"\"Daniel Reyes looks at photos of his son, Garrett Reyes, with his friends at Quant Pond on a board at a June 18 meeting held by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (Ash Petrie | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

When Quant Johnson began informing fellow neighbors about the application a year ago, 24 residents who shared a property line with or were downstream from the proposed facility weren\u2019t aware, she said.<\/p>\n

Residents living in the surrounding area voiced concerns about how the proposed treatment facility could impact their health.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laith Shannon and his daughter have chronic respiratory issues. Connie Dunn said her daughter has a weakened immune system. Erin Sanderlin Villanueva, who owns a nearby food manufacturing business, also expressed health concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

None were notified of the application. They requested a contested hearing case, which is similar to a civil trial, including sworn testimony and evidence to be heard by an administrative judge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many demanded the state environmental agency explain how it could approve the permit when there were numerous flooding, air quality, residential and property concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maricela Zertuche, an attorney with the agency\u2019s environmental law division, said flooding, air quality and neighboring residential property are not factors to consider when assessing wastewater permit criteria.<\/p>\n

Former Fort Worth City Council member Jared Williams, who spoke in opposition of the facility, asked state commission representatives if the proposed facility had been removed from Fort Worth\u2019s extraterritorial jurisdiction, which allows the city to regulate some activities in areas outside its official boundary.<\/p>\n

Gregg, the attorney representing the applicants, said the proposed facility was at one point part of the extraterritorial jurisdiction but did not know when it was removed or what was the motivation behind its removal. Texas Senate Bill 2038, which went into effect in 2023, gives property owners the right to opt out of extraterritorial jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

The removal was also a point of contention for Cook, who alleged Coontz and Frederick removed their land from Fort Worth\u2019s extraterritorial jurisdiction five weeks before filing the application.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis application was not filed in good faith,\u201d Cook said. \u201cThe needs of my community and constituents are paramount. I stand ready, willing to lock arms with these neighbors, and stand against the need of a wastewater treatment plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a contested case hearing is granted, an administrative judge will issue a recommendation to either approve or deny the permit.<\/p>\n

\"\"Cherine Berg claps after state Rep. David Cook told officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that he would defend her neighborhood and request a contested hearing case. (Ash Petrie | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

Ash Petrie is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at ash@fortworthreport.org.<\/p>\n

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/24\/tarrant-residents-lawmaker-air-concerns-about-planned-wastewater-plants-impact\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n

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